Campinas – With music, dance and typical Arab food, the city of Campinas, in the interior of São Paulo, ended the 28th Arab Culture Week, on Sunday (29). The celebration took place at the Carlos Gomes Cultural Coexistence Centre and also celebrated the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, celebrated globally on November 29th, and the anniversary of the Independence of Lebanon. The city of Campinas, home to some 80,000 Arab descendants, has been promoting the Arab Week annually since 1981.
“The (Arab) community is very large here and has contributed much to the city of Campinas,” said deputy mayor Demétrio Vilagra. According to him, it is a characteristic of the city to be open to all communities and cultures. “We have very close relations with these people and are always open to receiving those who bring culture to add to ours,” he said. In the Arab Culture Week there was also a cultural exhibition.
The event on Sunday was organized by Jerusalem Brazil Institute and had the support of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce. “It was a great pleasure to have come here to celebrate the Arab Culture Day and the event in honour of Jerusalem as the world cultural capital. It is a great pleasure for the Chamber to have participated in this event,” said Arab Brazilian Chamber president Salim Taufic Schahin, who was at the event.
The ambassador of Palestine to Brazil, Ibrahim Alzeben, who was present at the celebrations, pointed out the importance of culture as a factor for generation of closer ties between peoples. “Culture is the most civilized means for us to generate ties with people. It is an international language that should prevail in the contact between people. It may replace any language,” said Alzeben.
The occasion also served for celebration of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) and Arab League projects that established Jerusalem as the capital of Arab culture. The project for cultural capitals was launched at a United Nations Conference in 1982, with the objective of establishing cultural dialogue between the peoples of the world. The first city honoured as an Arab culture capital was Cairo, Egypt, in 1996. Now, in 2009, Jerusalem was the chosen city.
The event included a presentation by the Brazilian Orchestra of Arab Percussion, established by a group of youths from Campinas. The group includes teens aged 10 to 14, in public schools. Under the guidance of Willian Bordokan, they learn how to play Arab percussion instruments: darbuka, daf, ketem, tabel and snukes. They are greatly applauded by the audience. The project for establishment of the band, developed by Jerusalem Institute, has the support of the Ministry of Culture and the Campinas City Hall.
There were also folk and belly dancing presentations and a show by Sami Bordokan, band, with Arab music. The audience could also learn a little about Arab clothes at the exhibition.
*Translated by Mark Ament
